Help - I can't scrape ROM meta data

[LJcrew]

Hello, I'm pretty new to the front end scene, but after migrating away from EmulationStation due to the lack of filters & other options to sort roms, I discovered AM which seams pretty awesome to say the least. If it wasn't for the fact that i can't scrape the metadata from thegamesdb.net, so now I can't use the powerful filters etc anyway
I've done some searching in this forum but didn't get much wiser.
So far I've only tried Sega Mega Drive /Genesis. This is from my genesis_plus_gx.cfg emulator file:

Code: [Select]

# Generated by Attract-Mode v2.1.0
#
executable           /usr/bin/retroarch
args                 --fullscreen -L /usr/lib/libretro/genesis_plus_gx_libretro.so  "[romfilename]"
rompath              /home/xxx/ROMs/Sega Mega Drive
romext               .zip;.gen
system               Sega Mega Drive;Sega Genesis
info_source          thegamesdb.net
artwork    flyer           /home/xxx/ROMs/Sega Mega Drive/box
artwork    marquee         /home/xxx/ROMs/Sega Mega Drive/marquee
artwork    snap            /home/xxx/ROMs/Sega Mega Drive/snap
artwork    wheel           /home/xxx/ROMs/Sega  Mega Drive/wheelI even tried nplayers.ini & catver.ini in the 'Additional input files' option - before I realized those are for mame only?

1. Is this a known problem with the built-in scraper? Or are my settings wrong? Cause i previously scraped the roms using Sselph's scraper for ES & it worked, getting me: Genre, Year, Manufacturer, nplayers, etc. (not 100% but at least I got the main bulk of data).
2. If scraping can't be done with AM - is there a script to migrate the metadata from ES's .xml files to AM's romlists? Or are there complete romlists floating out on the internet somewhere?

PS. I'm using Linux, AM 2.0 & currently focusing on old portable & home console games from the 80's & early 90's (no mame to start with, maybe at a later date ^_^ ) using 1G1R No-Intro rom sets (sorted by US,EU,JP,...) & correctly named.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanx /LJ

[progets]

I don't use the "scrapper" function. I provide my own art from other sources. I haven't had any issues getting the metadata for the games in Windows or Debian builds of Attract-Mode. This info is downloaded when you generate the romlist and not when you use the scrapper.

A few of things to try or keep in mind.
1. The gamesdb.net website goes down a lot. (maybe it was down when you generated your romlist)
2. You might try using either "Sega Genesis" or "Sega Mega Drive" in the "system" field of the emulator.cfg file. (I don't know if that field supports multiple entries)
3. I can share my romlists with you but the issue is that my roms will likely have different names than your roms. MAME is the only system that really has a unified naming convention for roms.
4. If you do use the scrapper, I think it downloads all the art to a folder called scrapper and not to the folders you define in the emulator.cfg.
5. You have too many spaces between "Sega" and "Mega" in your "artwork wheel" line listed below.
6. As you discovered, the nplayers.ini and catver.ini files are only used for MAME.
7. You can use the "attract" command from the command line to import databases from other frontends into your romlists. Take a look at the "ReadMe" file for details.

If you're still not able to get the game filter info, post a few lines of your romlist file so we can see what it looks like.

[LJcrew]

Yup,I know metadata is collected with the romlist build - I just wrote scrapper since it also scrape, although different kinds of data  (I should have been clearer). I'm prob gonna use emumovies or progetto-snaps for art.
1. I'm aware but thegamesdb.net was online, I tested scrapping art right after I built the romlist - which worked. Also tried rebuilding a few times.
2. Iirc AM states that I can use both identifiers separated with a semicolon. I will try using only one though
3. Thanx, but you probably right.
4. Yeah I noticed that, much to my confusion. But I guess it's to prevent one from overwriting any art previously collected.
5. Good catch ... Me so sloppy! 
6. Thanx for confirming.
7. Ohh... Am definitely gonna check that out.

Many thanx for the input